BIRTHDAY CAKE

there are soooo many recipes out there on the internet nowadays and it can be really hard to sift through them and find what’s worth making and what might be a waste of time. i wanted to find the perfect chocolate birthday cake, something that you’d feel excited to bring a friend on their special day. i read through a ton of recipes and felt that the had the most remarkable reviews. it felt like no one had a bad thing to say and that many of the comments were, “best cake I’ve ever had!” and “i’ve found the perfect chocolate cake!”. reading through them i knew we had to give it a try and see if it’s that good, and truthfully, it is. i also think we should all start baking birthday cakes for our loved one’s birthdays. how fun and sweet (pun intended) for someone to show up on your door with a cake and candles. birthdays can become less and less climactic as we get older and i say we start working to counter that feeling. so let’s all bake someone a cake! -joanie
p.s. the plates are from knot and bow! you can find them .

i know baking can be intimidating but if you take it step by step it really is an approachable recipe. my biggest baking tip is to be super exact, don’t eyeball anything, make all of your measurements exact. we made the cake exactly as instructed. but one thing i will say is that the baking time was a bit long, it says 35-45 minutes. we did 35 minutes and i think it could have been 3-5 minutes shorter than that.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. you could also use three smaller pans if you wanted to create more layers and height.

• Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

• Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

• Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.